Your Hero/Heroine’s Journey: A Journaling Exercise

You have probably heard the advice, “flip the script” or “change the story”. When we see our lives as a story in which we are the hero or heroine, it can help us shift our energy and give us an interesting third party perspective on things. All good stories are about the resolution of drama of some kind. Situations and problems arise for the characters on the pages and they are dealt with and resolved in a variety of ways. A story can take many twists and turns along the way before ultimately coming to an ending, be it happy or sad or somewhere in between.

If you were the hero or heroine of YOUR story (which you are, of course), how would you want the drama that you are currently facing to play out? How do you want to show up in YOUR story? All heroes and heroines face challenging circumstances and somehow manage to transform or rise above them in some way. That is what makes them compelling to us. Really put yourself into that heroic energy. This is especially important if the drama you are dealing with has left you feeling powerless and victimy. Yes, things are hard. But you, my dear hero/heroine, can do hard things. This is just the beginning…the raw material that makes your story one worth telling. Choose a situation that you are currently facing and write about it in the third person. For example, “Kristi came home from running errands this afternoon and realized, much to her dismay, that one of her chickens had escaped into the neighbor’s yard. Again.” (True story, by the way). Describe your current drama in exquisite detail. See yourself in the story. Know that we are just setting the scene for you to step into your greatness.

Now, with courage, wisdom and grace, describe what happens next on your hero/heroine’s journey. It might be helpful to consider what someone you greatly admire might do in that same situation. What would Oprah do if her chickens kept escaping from her yard? Write the journey from the third person perspective again. Bravely allow your story to unfold. See it through to your desired resolution of the drama. Once again, exquisite detail is helpful here. In this telling of YOUR story, you are profoundly strong, wise and resilient. Really let yourself step into that role of hero or heroine.

When you are finished, read through your story start to finish. Underline parts that resonate with you. Does it inspire you? Does it help you see possibilities that you hadn’t before? What small steps can you take today to move yourself into this heroic energy, to flip the script, to change the story? Journal briefly about what it means to step into this heroic role in your present life.